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Tuesday, August 03, 2010

fair and square quilt

This past weekend I spoke at the Margaret's Hope Chest Summer Work Party. I don't think I could ever grow tired of meeting new friends that share the love of quilting. I could, however, do without the 3 days of self doubts that plague me after teaching a class. :) But, I think it's safe to say that we all had a great time. And we got lots done!

When Carin asked me to teach, we agreed that I would design a quilt for especially for MHC. She wanted it to be a man/boy friendly pattern around 45 x 65, something that was easy to chain piece and something without borders.This is what I came up with. I've made 3 quilt tops in this pattern so far and the variations/possibilities are endless. This version feels somewhat City Quilts-ish, wouldn't you say? I never thought I would make a quilt with black sashing, but this quilt made me want to run out and buy an entire bolt of black quilting cotton. It's fabulous!

The various green fabrics came from a scrap box that Heather had given to Victoria, who in turn shared the scraps with those of us who were at the Gruber's retreat back in June. I knew I was going to be making masculine quilts, and the hunter green fabrics weren't so popular, so I thought I would challenge myself to try to make them work in some quilt somehow. I'm so pleased that I did it!

I stippled the quilt in grey thread and as you can see, I used mostly black binding. I was so close to finishing the quilt, but didn't want to go buy more binding fabric, so I added a few green strips to make the black fabric stretch around the perimeter of the quilt. I chose the darkest green prints for minimal contrast. I love it when I can make do with what I have rather than buying more. Plus, it makes the final product so much more interesting.

Hey Amanda Jean, you were fabulous! I enjoyed meeting you and getting to know you. I love this quilt and am now trying how to quilt it. I think you need to put your doubts away. You were fantastic. I ended up leaving that thread on that machine! I knew I was going to do that. Remember that if you ever want a PA keep me on the short list and I am serious about that. Sometimes it is just fun to play a supporting role and to be a part of the fun!XOP

Sounds like you had a great weekend for a good cause. Mama Spark had a blast. Wish I had been able to go. Maybe next year. Thanks for the autographed pattern. I'll be making this quilt for sure. I like simple and fast.

Sometimes all the elements come together to make a simple yet great quilt--they certainly did with this one. Very City-Quilty, great choice of sashing color, quilting thread color and, definitely the name!

That is a great quilt! I'm going to add this to my "must make" list - it looks perfect for some homespun plaids I just received, and also for fabrics where you want larger pieces to showcase a great print! Thanks so much for sharing!!

I really like the quilt.. the pattern looks really simple and doable, yet like you said there's soo many possibilities. And I think while some quilts look too busy when they have pieced bindings, it works really well for this one.

Simple always looks so effective when the right colour-combi is put together - I love this and think it would be a great idea for a christmas prezzie for my dad - he's always cold (wears a hat indoors throughout summer!!!). What dimensions did you use???

I like that you quilted it in grey. It gives the black sort of a variegated look and lightens it up just a little. I have a ton of older dark greens that aren't really in style anymore. I've been wondering what I should do with them. I like the black -- and I never like black sashing very much (although I did recently buy a whole bolt of it for a quilt my daughter is doing).

*grin* I knew this post was coming! I loved meeting you on Saturday.....and I'm excited to try this quilt in something girly now. I have quite a few plaids and madras prints in pinks, oranges, and blues ---- reclaimed from PJ pants, button down shirts, and, of all things, a couple house dresses I picked up at The Salvation Army. I'm sashing in white and will be making quilts for the bunkbeds in our little camper.

Amanda, this is a great quilt! It sounds perfect for Margaret's Hope Chest. I'll bet the Summer Work Party was a lot of fun. Wish I could have been there. It's great to see an interesting yet manish quilt!!! Kudos to your son for coming up with the name!!!